Monday, August 18, 2014

Mid-Year Book Freakout

Remember last week when I did the Countdown Survey? Well, that was a lot of fun (albeit a bit stressful because WHAT DO I CHOOSE?) so I kinda wanted to do something similar again! Which, if you haven't guessed by the graphic, is indeed the Mid-Year Book Freakout, created by Chami and Ely from A Book So Fathomless. I was initially going to do a mid-year check in and make a fancy schmancy infographic to show all the books that I've read so far which I PLANNED on getting up in June. Obviously that didn't happen and since it's August now, there's no point in really making one any more so I think doing this survey seems like a good alternative. Now having said that, let the mid-year book freakout commence!

(I really am freaking out at this point though because I haven't even reached 50 books yet for my goal of 100 books by the end of the year and it's AUGUST. AUGUST.)

1. Best book you've read so far in 2014.

Ugh, starting things off hard for me, eh? Seriously tell me how I'm supposed to manage to answer this question? I've been really lucky in that 2014 has been a pretty good year for me reading wise and I've only given like two or three books two-stars and anything below that. Everything else is pretty much a four star or a five star and some have three stars but not many either. So I definitely have a large pot to pick from. I'm not entirely certain of my answer because I'm just really indecisive and HAVE NO CLUE but I'm going with Torn Away by Jennifer Brown. It was just such a great novel through and through and so powerful. I can't say it was 100% the BEST book I've read so far in 2014 because I might go back a few months from now and say it was so-and-so instead but Torn Away is definitely AMONG the best books I've read so far.

2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2014.
This has to go to Fire With Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivianwhich is the second book in the Burn for Burn trilogy. Guys, I LOVED this book. I LOVE the series. It's just so much awesomeness and excitement rolled into one great book.

3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to.
Hmm, I definitely want to read Open Road Summer by Emery Lord. It's gotten really positive feedback and I know a lot of people love it so it's definitely on my TBR. I think I'm going to place an order for it when I get some other books soon so I'm probably going to end up finishing it before the end of this year!

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.
This is a tough one. I'm going to go ahead and say Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian because the second book left me with SO many questions and I just need to read the third book and know that everything's going to be okay for my ship. It was either this or Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins but that is coming out in less than a week (I think?) or maybe it will already be out by the time I publish this so I'm going to count that out. But oh MAN, I am so excited and nervous for Ashes to Ashes to come out and then to read it.

5. Biggest disappointment.
I've had a pretty good reading year so far as I've said, so there haven't really been many books I didn't like to begin with. And of that very, very small percentage, there haven't been any that I was really disappointed that I didn't like. Um, maybe The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han though? (I realize I've already mentioned Jenny Han in like three answers. This was kinda the year of reading Jenny Han books for me though.) I was really expecting to like it as I love contemporary and really enjoyed her book Shug which was kinda like my favourite thing ever in sixth grade. I didn't hate it but it wasn't my favourite either.

6. Biggest surprise.Small Damages by Beth Kephart has been the biggest surprise for me so far. I really did not like the first half of the book but the second half just got me totally hooked on all the characters and the story and the setting. I still didn't end up LOVING it but it was a total 180 from how I felt about it at the beginning so I ended up giving it four stars!

7. Favourite new author.
I am so in love with Jenny Han. Maybe you can tell by how many times I've mentioned her already? This really has been the year of Jenny Han for me though. Prior to this year, I'd only read Shug and now I think I've almost gone through all of her books? So that's a pretty big accomplishment. Her books are really just so enjoyable and even though I may find the main character freaking annoying or a bit naive and immature, I still have such a fun time reading her books! Which is HUGE because usually when I find the main character unsavory, I want to immediately stop reading.

8. Newest fictional crush.Jason Lippincott dude. I'm kinda obsessed with him. I even wrote this huge, long paragraph about how much I loved him in my review for Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill. And let me tell you why he's so great: he's a ginger, he's part British (you know how I feel about British guys), he's funny, he's sweet and the BOY CAN SING. That's it, I'm done. SOLD.

10. Book that made you cry.
I'm not a crier when it comes to books but I have surprisingly cried reading three books which is pretty huge for me. The one book that garnered the biggest waterwork is Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. If you've read the book, YOU KNOW WHY. You can't sit through that and not cry, or at least, want to cry.

11. Book that made you happy.
Well, I recently just finished my third reread of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling and that made me SO happy. I haven't picked up a Harry Potter book in two or three years and it was just so wonderful to jump back into the world. And the narration was a lot funnier than I had imagined it so I was laughing and smiling with all the characters and oh god, it was just such a great experience.

12. Favourite book to film adaptation you saw this year.
I don't actually know if I've seen many book to film adaptations this year to start with so this is a pretty small category for me but still, I'm giving this title to The Fault in Our Stars movie. I feel like even if I did watch like ten other book to film adaptations this year, this would still take the category. It was just so well done and beautiful and you can read more of my gushings here.

13. Favourite review you've written this year.
Hmm, favourite review I've written this year? I had to go through my entire archive because nothing popped to mind. I don't really think any of my reviews are good, they're all like super long and rambly but I do like this new format that I have to write them a lot. It just makes it a whole lot more enjoyable for me which is the important thing right? But hmm. I think maybe my review for How to Love by Katie Cotugno? I think that's one of my more coherent and put-together reviews so I'm going to go with that!

My beautiful copy
which is even more
beautiful inside.

14. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year.
Without a question, the most beautiful book I've bought so far is Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I got this really nice special edition of it at a bookstore for eight dollars when it's usually marked at THIRTY dollars so besides being a really, really beautiful copy, I also got it for a lot cheaper which is always a bonus!

15. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
I'd like to finish Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo and the rest of the series by the end of the year. I hate reading series when the books aren't out yet and since it is now a completed series, I think it's time for a binge read! I actually have the first book on my bedside table right now so it's just a matter of actually getting to it and then getting my hands on the next two books and novellas (maybe? I think there is a novella but I'm not sure).

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Those are my answers for the Mid-Year Book Freakout. I'd love to know what yours are so pick a question (or two) to answer in the comments!